Forty years ago, when ‘Soorya’ Krishnamoorthy founded the cultural organisation that has now become synonymous with his name, his only motivation was that he wanted to watch films and artistes the city residents got to watch only rarely. It all started from the staging of his first show ‘Thamaso Ma Jyothirgamaya’ at the University Senate Hall on September 3, 1977.
A few weeks later, he started the Soorya Stage and Film Society, which has over the past decades been bringing the best of musicians, dancers and films to the city, every year without fail.
Three pillars
“The idea really took root when I was at Carnatic musician M.S. Subbulakshmi’s house. There was singer Yesudas, Bharatanatyam dancer Padma Subrahmanyam and mridangam player Mavelikkara Krishnankutty Nair too at her house. When I told them about the festival, all three promised to perform every year.
Subbulakshmi said that she would perform whenever she can. They all kept their promise. Yesudas has not missed a single year. Padma Subrahmanyam has performed continuously for 38 years, until her health prevented her from coming. Krishnankutty Nair too was a regular, until he passed away,” says Mr. Krishnamoorthy.
Same rules
He has stuck to the rules with which it was started – no awards, no ticketed shows. It still follows the membership system with which it began.
“As soon as the society was floated, we were lucky to have thousands of people joining in and filling all the slots. We still have a minimal annual membership fee. There has always been a long waiting list for membership. Financially, we survive on the interest amount from the life memberships for corporate clients,” he says.
In the initial days, the society screened the not so ‘high-brow’ films to attract more people. “It has been a slow process of educating the audience. We did not begin from the highly artistic films. Also, from the beginning, we wanted to ensure that women also got equal participation. Now, women constitute more than 50% of the audience for the screenings,” says Mr. Krishnamoorthy.
Twenty years back, Soorya expanded out of its home city, and began organising one-day shows in Gulf countries, USA, Europe, and Australia.
All ‘Ammus’
To mark the 40th anniversary of Soorya, this year’s festival, stretching for 111 days, will begin with the coming together of all the 15 actors who played the character ‘Ammu,’ a fixture in all of Mr. Krishnamoorthy’s dramas and sound and light shows, over the years. The function will be held at Tagore Theatre on September 21.
